Name______
Class Period____ 11/3/04
Location Paragraph Topics:
Relative:
Distance from St. Paul in miles
Neighboring nations
Absolute:
Latitude and Longitude
Hemispheres
Continent
Bordering water features
Place Paragraph Topics:
Human Characteristics:
Population
Land Area
Population Density
Main language(s)
Main religion(s)
Ethnic groups
Literacy Rate
Life Expectancy
Birthrate
Death rate
Population growth
Doctors per population
Cars per population
Government type
Economy
Human created tourist attractions
Natural/Physical Characteristics:
Landforms
Water features
Natural tourist attractions
Weather
Human Environment Interaction topics
Humans adapt to the environment
Clothing styles
Architecture styles
Inventions (air conditioning, heating, etc.)
Food available
Growing season/crops grown
Fresh water availability
Natural Disasters (tornadoes, drought, famine,
hurricanes, mudslides, earthquakes, etc.)
Humans modify the environment
Pollution
Conservation
Forestry industry
Animal habitats/preserves
Terrace farming
Dams
Human made lakes/water features
Irrigation
Humans depend on the environment
Natural resources
Energy sources
Growing season
Natural vegetation for food or income
Weather
Recreation (skiing, water sports, etc.)
Movement topics
Movement of goods
Import products
Export products
Import partners (nations they purchase from)
Export partners (nations that buy their goods)
Movement of people
Immigration
Migration
Early colonization
Business travel (to where/from where?)
Travel for pleasure (to where/from where?)
Movement of ideas
Within the nation (telephone, Internet, radio, and TV access)
Foods/recipes
Clothing styles
Famous people (actors, musicians, bands, politicians, etc.)
Religion (from colonial power/ministry?)
Language (from colonial power?)
Form of government (from colonial power?)
Region topics-
For this paragraph, identify the characteristic that is shared and then give four other nations that also share that characteristic. (see example paragraph below)
Formal
Governmental divisions (states/provinces within the nation)
Climate regions within the nation (compare to US climates)
Form of government
Language
Religious
Continent
Developed (industrialized) /developing nation
Colonial power
Commonwealth membership (part of Great Britain, U.S., France, etc.)
Organizational membership [European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization
of African States (OAS), Kyoto Accord, Organization of American States (OAS), etc.]
**Remember that you must know what the organization is if you plan to use it in you paragraph!**
Vernacular
Cultural Region
Nicknames used commonly by other nations (ex. Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes)
Geographic Region (the West, Far East, Middle East, Sub-Saharan, Mediterranean, etc.)
Mrs. Brown’s example paragraph for region:
The United States has many regions within its boundaries and is part of many regions in the world. This large nation is divided into fifty political states, each of varying size, shape and population. These states are required to follow national laws, but can also make laws within the borders. There are many natural regions within the nation as well. The west coast states of California, Washington, and Oregon, have small areas of fertile farm land and high mountains are found in the Western states of Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. In the Central part of the nation is the vast central plain made up of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa. The Great Lakes States include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.Farther east, are the New England States of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. Forty-nine of the fifty states are found on the continent of North America. Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, and the other Caribbean Islands are also part of North America. Another of the world regions that the United States fits into is the English speaking nations. Some other nations that have English as their main language include; Great Britain, Singapore, Botswana, New Zealand, Australia and Belize. The United States is a nation where most of the people are protestant. Protestant religions are those that are Christian, but not Roman Catholic. Many other nations also share this cultural trait. New Zealand, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Uganda, Canada, Switzerland, Malawi, Barbados, Kiribati, Kenya, Micronesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also have large percentages of their population that practice protestant religions. In addition, The United States was once a colony of Great Britain, which is why the English language and the protestant religions are important parts of the culture. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Virgin Islands and Kenya were also colonies of Great Britain. The United States is part of many world organizations as well. The United Nations is an important organization in world affairs and the other permanent members of the Security Council include
the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France. This is important because these nations always have a position and a vote for important world affairs that are decided by the Security Council of the United Nations. Another world organization that the United States is part of is the Organization of American States (OAS). The goal of this organization is to help the nations of the Western Hemisphere to work together for the good of all the member nations. Most of the nations south of the United States are part of the OAS. Some of these nations include; Argentina, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico, Jamaica, Uruguay and Venezuela.